Brazil president preparing to send army to contain Amazon fires

Under increasing international pressure to contain record numbers of fires in the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday (local time) he might send the military to battle the massive blazes.

"That's the plan," Mr Bolsonaro said. He did not say when the armed forces would get involved but suggested that action could be imminent.

Mr Bolsonaro has previously described rainforest protections as an obstacle to economic development, sparring with critics who note that the Amazon produces vast amounts of oxygen and is considered crucial in efforts to contain global warming.

Small numbers of demonstrators gathered outside Brazilian diplomatic missions in Paris, London and Geneva to urge Brazil to do more to fight the fires.

Neighbouring Bolivia and Paraguay have also struggled to contain fires that swept through woods and fields and, in many cases, got out of control in high winds after being set by residents clearing land for farming.

In escalating tension over the fires, France accused Mr Bolsonaro of having lied to French leader Emmanuel Macron and threatened to block a European Union trade deal with several South American states, including Brazil. Ireland joined in the threat.

The spectre of possible economic repercussions for Brazil and its South American neighbours show how the Amazon is becoming a battleground between Mr Bolsonaro and Western governments alarmed that vast swathes of the region are going up in smoke on his watch.

Ahead of a Group of Seven summit in France this weekend, Mr Macron's office issued a statement questioning Bolsonaro's trustworthiness.

Brazilian statements and decisions indicate Mr Bolsonaro "has decided to not respect his commitments on the climate, nor to involve himself on the issue of biodiversity," Mr Macron's statement said.

It added that France now opposes an EU trade deal "in its current state" with the Mercosur bloc of South American nations that includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.